If a software error corrupts a database, or if erroneous data updates the database, a database administrator may restore the database to a previous uncorrupted state that does not include the corrupted or erroneous data. A backup application executes a backup operation either occasionally or continuously to enable this restoration, storing a copy of each desired database state (the values of its data and these values' embedding in the database's data structures) within dedicated backup files. When the database administrator decides to return the database to a previous state, the database administrator specifies the desired previous state by identifying a desired point in time when the database was in this state, and instructs the backup application to execute a restore operation to restore a copy of the corresponding backup files for that state to the database. An additional copy that is made of the copy of the backup files and stored separately from the backup files may be referred to as a clone copy of the backup files.
A relational database management system, such as Oracle®, SQL® database, IBM® DB2® database, or any other type of relational database, typically use the relational database management system's native backup and recovery tool to store a backup file to a file system directory (called a recovery area directory) on a disk, and then create and store a clone copy of the backup file using a one-step backup process or a two-step backup process. In the one-step backup process, a database administrator for the relational database management system and a backup administrator for a third-party backup application together create and store the clone copy of the backup file directly to a backup device that is external to the relational database management system. The third-party backup application typically has a plugin for the relational database management system. The relational database management system sends a clone copy of the backup file directly to the plugin using a well-defined application program interface, and in turn to the external backup device. In the two-step backup process, the database administrator uses the relational database management system's native backup and recovery tool to store the backup file to a file system directory (recovery area directory) on a disk without using any third-party backup application, and then requests the backup administrator to use the third-party backup application to store a clone copy of the backup file to the external backup device.